August 2, 2011.

Hello Hello!

It is so good to write today. I am kind of hyper so my thoughts are all flustered. Sister Yi and I drove to Hamilton this morning. I was practicing a song with one of my zone leaders that we are singing in zone conference this week. We had SO much fun. He was in a band before his mission and it was just so fun to sing and make the song unique. I hope to record it somehow and maybe a member could put it on youtube so you can see it. So that made me really happy for the day because I love to sing.

The biggest story of the week happened on Sunday when Andris and Sister Hofstetter walked into the church. I was greeting at the door to the chapel and Andris said "I'd like to introduce you to Sister Krumins!" Then Sister "Krumins" put her hand up with a ring on it. WHAT?!?!?!??! He had proposed last Sunday, the day he got confirmed (they had never talked about marriage before), they planned it all week and the stake president married them in the church on Saturday. I didn't even know because only family was there. I am SO happy for them and they are so happy. They are going to Hawaii tomorrow. It was fun to see some pictures from the wedding and hear stories. I am so grateful for them in my mission and in my life :)

We got a new investigator named Nyari (pronounced Nee-yah-ree) on Friday. She was a member referral and is from Zimbabwe. She committed to read the Book of Mormon, but we just have one concern to solve...she says that her church in Zimbabwe had a boy similar to Joseph Smith who started seeing visions and they read a different book in addition to the Bible so she thinks that she has been baptized by the proper authority. That's a tough one. Well, all she has to do is read the Book of Mormon and pray with a sincere heart. The Spirit will witness the truth of the message of the Restoration to her and all will be well :) We teach her again tomorrow. We also have district meeting tomorrow and zone conference on Saturday, so it's a busy week. We had a zone meeting last week and met all of the new elders in the zone. It was really fun and we played some get-to-know-you games. The Spirit was strong as we worked together to decide what our zone focus would be for August. We all decided on the focus of "I am His hands" and felt very strongly about it. We will continue to make our action items as well.

Carey wasn't confirmed on Sunday because she was really sick so she had to stay home. She will be confirmed this coming Sunday so I am looking forward to that. This week has been BIG at home too with Hannah getting married and Alex going on her mission! I am so happy for them both.

Have a wonderful week and be strong! I love the gospel! Can you believe it? I am a missionary for the Lord, Jesus Christ. How great is my calling! I LOVE YOU ALL! Be Happy :)

Love,

Sister Barton